shannon



( No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

N. SHANNON.

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(No'Moael.) 3 sheets-sheet 2. N. SHANNN.

ENGINE.

w Q l" ML' Patented Jan. 5, 1897.

u w e .AH @www UNITED; STATES PATENT Fries.

NEELY SHANNON, OF HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA, ASSIGNOR OF FORTY-NINEONE-HUNDREDTHS TO J. ll. LANDMAN, OF SAME PLACE.

ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 574,457', datedLJanuary 5, 1897. Application filed January 16,1896. Serial No. 575,800.(No model.)

To all whom tmf/ry concern.-

Beit known that I, NEELY SHANNON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Huntsville, in the county of Madison and State of 5 Alabama,have invented a new and useful Direct-Acting Fluid-Pressure Engine, ofwhich the following' is a specification.

My invention relates to direct-acting fluidpressure engines, and has forits object to pro- 1o vide an improved construction of valve mechanismfor controlling the length of stroke and the lead of the valves, toprovide means for reversing an engine by changing the course of theiiuid agent, the lead of the valves being 15 automatically reversed frominside to outside, and vice versa, and, furthermore, to provide a simpleand eicient form of valve especially adapted for use in connection withthe improved engine.

zo Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in thefollowing description, and the novel features thereof will beparticularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view 25 showing one of thevalve-chambers with the cap-plate removed. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsection of the throttle-valve casing and reversing-cylinder. Fig. 3 is alongitudinal Section on the line 8 3 of Fig. 1 through one 3o of theslide-valve casings, showing the valvegear in elevation. Fig. 4 is adetail view in perspective of the piston cross-head and the means forguiding the same. Fig. 5 is a similar View of a portion of the valvemechanism 3 5 detached. Fig. G is a diagrammatic view showing theslide-valve casin gs and throttle-valve casings and indicating in dottedlines the run of the channels connecting the same. Fig. 7 is atransverse section of one of the slide- 4o valve casings. Fig. 8 is adetail View in perspective of one of the slide-valves. Fig. 9 is asimilar view of the upper packing-strip. Fig. 10 is a similar view ofone of the lower packing-strips. Fig. 11' is a transverse sec- 4 5 tionvof the valve.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding partsin all thefigures of the drawings.

In the drawings I have illustrated'duplicate 5o double-acting enginesarranged to communicate motion to a common shaft 1, which is providedwith a belt-pulley 2 and a fly-wheel 3, said shaft having cranks towhich are connected the pitmen 4. inasmuch as the two enginesillustrated are identical in construc- 5 5 tion it will be necessary tospecifically describe only one.

5 represents a cylinder in which operates a piston 6, and connected tothe piston-head 7 is a cross-head 8. This cross-head is mounted 6o inguides 9, consisting of parallelbars secured at one end to thecylinder-head and at the other end to supporting-brackets 10.

Steam is fed to the cylinder through the slide-valve casing 11, in thevalve-seat 12 of 65 which are formed the cylinder-ports 13 and theintermediate steam-port 1-1. The steamport communicates by means of achannel 15 .with the throttle-valve casing 16 outside of the path of thethrottle-valve arranged there- 7o in. Also communicating with theslide-valve casing outside of the hollow slide-valve 17 is a port 18,lwhich also communicates by means of a channel 19 with the throttle-valvecasing.

For the purpose of clearness in description '7 5 1 will term theintermediate port 14 the inside and the port 18 the outside inletports,the former being arranged permanently between the ends or withirrthecavity of the hollow slide-valve, while the latter is arranged 8ooutside of the same. The throttle-valve consists of spaced heads 20,connected bya tube 21, whereby communication is established in allpositions of the throttle-valve between the spaces at t-he opposite endsthereof. The space 8 5 between the heads 2O is, however, out ofcommunication with the terminal spaces of the throttle-valve casing. Theposition of the steam-supply pipe 22 is such as to insure itscommunication with the terminal chambers 9o of the throttle-Valve casingin all positions of. the valve, and the exhaust-port 23 is in such aposition as to insure its communication with the intermediate chamber ofthe throttlevalve casing or the space between the heads 95 of thethrottle-valve in all positions of the latter. The relative dispositionof the points of communication of the channels 15 and 19 with thethrottle-valve casing are such, however, as to provide for arrangingeither of roo said channels in communication with the intermediatechamber of the casing. Hence live steam may be fed through either ofthese channels and admitted to the slide-valve casingl through eitherthe inside or the outside steamport. In other words, the ports 14 and 18may be interchangeably used for supply and exhaust steam, and hence themotion of the engine may be reversed by simply changing the position ofthe throttle-valve.

The slide-valve casing is so constructed that the capplate 2 thereof isarranged in contact with and forms the upper side oi the hollow valve17, said valve consisting of a hollow square, while the valve-seat.forms the bottom thereof, and in order to allow free communication ofduid between the spaces at opposite ends of the valve to balance thesame and provide for communication with the outside port 1S the casingis provided with side guides 25. The casing preferably comprises arectangular shell forming side and end walls which rest at their loweredges upon the valveseat, the upper edges of said walls being extendedinwardly to form the guides 25. The bolts by which the cap-plate issecured in place ext-end through the shell at the intersections of theside and end walls to prevent vibration or displacement thereof, wherebythe shell of the casing is separate from the seat and is held in placeby the same bolts which secure the cap-plate,while theinturned upperedges of the side walls of the shell form lateral guides for the hollowvalve, which is open at its top and bottom for closure, respectively, bythe cap-plate and valve-seat. The upper surfaces of opposite sides ofthe valve 17 are channeled, as shown at 2G, to receive the oppositesides 27 of the packingframe, said sides 27 being terminally connectedby the inner and outer guide-bars 2S and 29, which are arranged,res}')ectively, in contact with the inner and outer surfaces of the endsol' the valve. Thus the packingframe is constructed in a single piece,and in order to hold it in steam-tight contact with the under surface ofthe capplate the springs 30 are arranged under cross-pieces 31 at theends of the frame. In order to insure suitable contact with thevalve-seat and compensate for inequalities therein, I employ pivo1 al orrocking packing-strips 32, each consisting of an inner arm and an outerarin 3i, connected at their'centers by a pivot-pin 35, which is mountedin the frame of the valve.

Mounted upon a guide 3G is a slide 37, to which is pivotally connectedone end of an .arm 3S, carried by the pitman, and said arm has a slidingconnection with an arm 39 of a lever 40, the other arm of said leverbeing connected by nica-ns of a link 41 with the valve-stem i2. 'lhe arm38 is thus connected at one end to a slide adapted to reciprocate upon asuitable guide and is pivotally connected at the other end to theeugine-pitman near its point of connection with the driven shaft, andhence the oscillatory movement of said arm causes a correspondingmovement of the lever, by which reciprocatory movement is communicatedto the valve-stem. The slotted connection between the arm 38 and thelever allows free reci procatory movement ot' the former. In practice Iform the sliding connection between said arm and lever by means of anadjustable block mounted to slide upon the lever, whereby the connectionbetween the arm and the lever may be arranged at dili'erent distancesfrom the fulcrum of the pitman. It is obvious that the farther saidconnection is moved from the fulcrum of the pitman the longer will bethe strokes of the valve. In order to provide for the adjustment of thispivotal point of connection, I employ a rock-shaft 43, having an arm4st, connected by means of a link 45 with said block.

Then the engine is runninglight and with a full stroke, there is no leadto the slidevalve, and when it is desired to cause or increase the leadthe block should be moved to reduce the throw or amplitude of vib 'ationof the valve, or toward the guide 3G.

Inasmuch as I have provided means for reversing the direction of feedingthe steam or other agent to the slide-valve casing, to reverse theengine it is obvious that means must be provided for varying the lead ofthis valve to suit the port through which the live steam is fed, or, inother words, to changev the lead from inside to outside, and vice versa.The means which I have shown in the drawings for accomplishing thispurpose embody the above-mentioned guide 3G, which is angularlyadjust-able to change the direction of its inclination. When inclined inone direction,the lead is inside,and when inclined in the otherdirection the lead is outside. In order to avoid manually adjusting thisguide, however, I employ a reversing-cylinder 4G, in which is arranged apiston 47, said reversing-cylinder being in communication at oppositesides of the plane of the pistonwith the throttle-valve casing by meansof conductors 48 and 49. This construction is such as to provide for themovement of the piston in the reversing-cylinder to one position or theother, according to the position of the throttle-valve, said pistonbeing maintained at a given position until the position of thethrottle-valve is reversed. To the stem of the pist-on arranged in thereversing-cylinder is connected a crank 50 of a rock-shaft 51, by whichthe guide 3G is carried, and hence when the direction of steam isreversed by changing the position ofthe throttle-valve the live steamimmediately reverses the position of the piston in thereversing-cylinder and alters the inclination of the guide to change thelead from inside to outside, or vice versa.

In describing this portion of the construction I have used expressionsindicating the change of lead of the slide-valve from inside to outside;but it is obvious that when the point of connection between the arm 38and the lever which communicates motion to the slide-valve stem is atthe limit of its move- ICO IIO

ment toward the point of maximum vibration of the pitman there will beno lead. In other words,the existence of lead is controlled solely bythe point of connection of said arm and lever; but in order to insurethe lead occurring at the proper side of the cylinder-ports to suit thepath of the steam at any given adjustment-of the throttle-valve I havedevised the above-described means for reversing the inclination of theguide by which one end of said arm is carried.

In practice various changes in the form, proportion, and the minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim is l. The combination of aslide-valve casing having a seat provided with ports, a rectangularshell removably iitted upon the seat and open top and bottom whereby theseat closes the lower side thereof, and a cap-plate closing the upperside of the shell and secured in place by bolts extending through theshell, and a slide-valve of rectangular construction having open upperand lower sides closed, respectively, by the cap-plate and seat and ofless width than the casing to allow an exterior steam-port in thevalve-seat to open outside of the valve, the side walls of the shellbeing provided with inwardly-extending iianges forming guides which bearagainst the sides of the slide-valve, and the bolts which secure thecap-plate being eX- tended through the shell in the anglesformed by theintersections of the side and end walls thereof, substantially asspecified.

2. A slide-valve constructed to form a hollow square, a packing-framecorresponding in plan with the valve and provided at opposite sides withbars countersunk in the face ot the valve and at the other oppositesides with parallel bars arranged in contact with the inner and outersurfaces of thevalve, and resilient means for eXtendin g said frame,substantially as specified.

3. A hollow slide-valve provided with opposite pivotal packing-stripsmounted to rock upon the valve, substantially as specified.

4. A hollow slide-valve having opposite parallel sides, andpacking-strips each comprising parallel bars or members arrangedcontiguous to the opposite faces of one of the sides of the valve andconnected at intermediate points by a transverse pin mountedin said sideof the valve, substantially as speciiied.

5. The combination with a valve for controlling cylinder-ports, andmeans for admitting live motive agent to the valve-casing either betweenor beyond the cylinder-ports, of valve-operating mechanism including arocking lever operatively connected with the valve, a pivotal connectionbetween said lever and a reciprocatory member, as a pitman, and meansfor varying the point ofconnection of said lever with the reci procatorymember, substantially as specified.

6. The combination with a valve for controlling` cylinder-ports, andmeans for admitting live motive agent to the valve-casing either betweenor beyond the cylinder-ports, of valve-operating mechanism including arocking lever operatively connected with the valve, an oscillatory armadapted to receive motion from a pitman and having a pivotal connectionwith said lever, and means for varying the point of pivotal connectionto vary the throw of the lever, substantially as specified.

7. The combination with a valve for controlling cylinder-ports, andmeans for admitting live motive agent to the valve-casing either betweenor beyond the cylinder-ports, of valve-operating mechanism including arocking lever operatively connected with the valve, an oscillatory armprovided at one end with a slide operating upon a stationary guide andconnected at the other end to a reciprocatory and oscillatory member, asa pitman, and means for pivotally connecting said lever to the arm andvarying the point ofconnection to vary the throw of the lever,substantially as speciiied.

8. The combination with a valve for controlling cylinder-ports, andmeans for admitting live motive agent to the valve-casing eitherbet-Ween or beyond the cylinder-ports, of valve-operating mechanismincluding an oscillatory arm connected at one end to an oscillatory andreciprocatory member, as a pitman, a guide carrying a slide connected tothe other end of said arm, a rocking lever operatively connected withsaid valve and pivotally connected to the arm, and means for adjustingthe guide to vary the path of the slide carried thereby, substantiallyas specified.

I 9. The combination with a valve for controlling cylinder-ports, andmeans for admitting live motive agent to the valve-casing either betweenor beyond the cylinder-ports, of valve-operating mechanism including arocking lever operatively connected with the valve, an oscillatory armconnected at one end to a pitmaman adj ustable' guide, a slide mountedupon said guide and connected to the other end of the arm, connectionsbetween the rocking lever and the arm, and mechanism controlled by meansfor admitting m0- tive agent t0 the valve-casing for reversing theposition of the guide, substantially as specified.

lO. The combination with a valve for controlling cylinder-ports, andmeans for admitting live motive agent to the valve-casing either betweenor beyond the cylinder-ports, of valve-operating mechanism including anoscillatory arm connected to a Amoving part, as a pitman, andoperatively connected with the valve, an adjustable guide for the otherend of said arm and adapted to be reversed to correspond with the pointof admitting live motive agent to the valve-casing, and a pis- IIO IZO

ton adapted to be exposed to pressure upon one face or the otheraccording to the point of admitting motive agent, said piston beingoperatively connected with the guide, substantially as specified.

ll. The combination with a valve for controlling cylinder-ports, andmeans for admitting live motive agent to the valve-casing either betweenor outside of the cylinderports, said means including a rthrottle-valve,of valve-operating mechanism including an oscillatory arm adapted toreceive motion from the moving part, as a pitrnan, and operativelyconnected with said valve, a reversible guide for the other end of thearm, a :rockshaft carrying said guide, and a piston ar- NLEELY SHANNON.

Vitnesses:

J. H. LANDMAN, SAMUEL C. SMITH.

